1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a communication contents certification system and a communication contents certification method that are used for certificating the communication contents and a computer-readable recording medium that stores a program for performing such function implemented on a computer, and more particularly relates to a communication certification system and a communication contents certification method used for certificating the contents of an electronic mail communicated through a telecommunication line and a computer readable-recording medium that stores a program for performing such function implemented on a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with development of the telecommunication line such as Internet, the information transmission by electric mail such as E-mail or the like has been used popularly. The information transmission by electronic mail is used not only for communication of personal documents between communication parties but also for electronic commerce, and it is expected that the information transmission by use of such electronic mail will be used further widely in various fields.
For example, with recent popularization of home digital video cameras and image editing apparatus, anyone can take and edit the high quality picture. The contents prepared as described hereinabove attached to an electronic mail are transmitted to a contents creating company, and the contents creating company commercializes the contents transmitted as described hereinabove. It is expected that such type of commercialization of the contents will be popularized in the future.
In the case that an electronic mail is used for commercial contract between parties, it is required to certificate the contents of the electronic mail communicated between the parties. For example, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-234330 discloses a method for contents certification in which the contents of an electronic mail transmitted from a party are stored in a memory apparatus and the contents are taken out from the memory apparatus to certificate the process of negotiation for making the commercial contract.
Furthermore, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-261549 discloses a method in which a mediator is assigned between the one party and the other party, the contents of an electronic mail are stored in a memory apparatus held by the mediator so that the electronic mail transmitted through the mediator is regarded as the mail with certificated contents.
Furthermore, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-340965 discloses a method for certificated reception in which a key used for opening a corresponding electronic mail is prepared for every electronic mail, the key is registered in a memory apparatus, and a party who takes an access to the memory apparatus to open the received electronic mail is regarded as a party who has read the electronic mail surely.
However, in the case of conventional electronic mail communication, because only the communication terminals of the parties who have communicated the electronic mail can store the transmitted electronic mail, the objectivity of the communicated electronic mail contents cannot be secured. In the case that the electronic mail is used commercially, the objectivity of the transaction contents cannot be secured as a sufficient certification. This is a problem of the conventional method. Such a problem is particularly remarkable in the case that the difference in power between both parties is significant.
For example, in the above-mentioned Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-234330, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-261549, and Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 11-340965, an electronic mail communicated between both parties is stored in a memory apparatus surely and the electronic mail may be used as the certification of contents later. However, because there is no mediator who is a law expert involved in the bargaining transaction in these inventions, both parties who are not law experts communicate an electronic mail and consider the result of communication as the certification of the contract, as the result it is not evitable that the contract is involved in various problems such as fraud.